Biographies of BRI cities highlight Silk Road spirit

The "Biographies of Silk Road Cities" book series published by China International Communications Group. 

Since the launch of the "Biographies of Silk Road Cities" series program in 2017, China International Communications Group (CICG) has published in multiple languages 60 books about 35 cities along the Belt and Road route. Among them, 10 are available in English, eight in Russian, one in Spanish, and three in Kazakh.

The International Seminar on Biographies of Silk Road Cities is held in Beijing on Oct. 9, 2023. [Courtesy photo]

The "Biographies of Silk Road Cities" series has well corresponded to the spirit of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and further explored the cultural values along the Silk Road, Liu Chuanming, deputy director of the editorial board of the book series, said at the International Seminar on Biographies of Silk Road Cities in Beijing on Oct. 9.

The authors of those books have placed equal emphasis on both narrative and historical value, dug deep into the cultures of these cities, and fully leveraged the unique characteristics of these cities to facilitate mutual learning between different civilizations and enhance people-to-people ties, Liu said. 

Thanks to the concerted efforts from various parties, the launch of the books has been advanced smoothly, according to CICG's Foreign Languages Press (FLP), one of the publishers of the book series.

For instance, the biographical book of Quanzhou city in Fujian province came about as a result of sound cooperation among local governments, writers associations, and federations of literary and art circles. The FLP, in particular, worked together with local governments to launch the book during an international exchange activity, greatly improving the global presence of the series. 

Moreover, to better promote the biographical books of cities from other countries, cross-national cooperation mechanisms have also been established. For example, in 2019, CICG's New Star Press, another publisher of the book series, signed agreements with the Union of Writers of Kazakhstan on publishing the Chinese versions of the biographical books of Kazakh cities written by local writers. 

Over the last few years, the book series has greatly facilitated cultural exchange and people-to-people ties between China and BRI partner countries, effectively consolidating the cooperative relationships among governments and enterprises. 

"The Biography of Samarkand," the book on the 2,000-year-old city of Samarkand in Uzbekistan, published by China International Communications Group. 

For example, the biographical book of Samarkand, an ancient city of Uzbekistan, has allowed Chinese audiences to learn about the city and understand the deep friendship between China and the Central Asian country, said Botir Tursunov, minister-counselor of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in China.

The launch ceremony of multilingual versions of biographical books of cities along the Belt and Road route is held at the 28th Beijing International Book Fair on Sept. 14, 2021. [Photo/CICG]

In addition, the book series has drastically enhanced the international communication capacity of China. Over the past few years, the books have been displayed at different international book fairs including the Frankfurt, London, and New York Book Fairs.

Those international events have effectively improved the global presence of the books and given audiences across the world access to more information about the cities along the Belt and Road.  

According to New Star Press, the agency plans to expand cooperation with local government departments across China and international institutions and launch various cultural products related to the books, including exhibitions and short videos, to further promote the series and help them reach more audiences across the world.